Girlfriend who was kicked unconscious makes surprising request in court

SAN DIEGO - A request made by a woman who was seen getting kicked unconscious by a man in a surveillance video surprised a judge Wednesday.

The woman asked the judge for a protective order to be lifted in order to have contact with her boyfriend Dorian Chavez Anguiano. He pleaded guilty last month to a charge of domestic violence resulting in a traumatic condition, admitting that he personally inflicted great bodily injury on his girlfriend.

"I am struggling with alcoholism. Dorian, in the past has helped me with my alcoholism. It`s been causing me a lot of stress and anxiety not to speak to him," the woman said. "I've tried before - it`s not helped me... [he was] only thing that helped me."

The woman said she needs Anguiano's support so she doesn't have a relapse.

"There are other places you can get that support. You don`t have to get it just from him," the judge said declining her request. "I`m not going to release the protective order."

Anguiano, 42, was supposed to be sentenced Wednesday, but it didn't happen after his girlfriend's appearance in court.

Surveillance video captured images of a man later identified as Anguiano driving into a parking area at the lodge on Broadway in Chula Vista with a female passenger shortly after 7 p.m. on Aug. 6, according to police.

The security-camera footage then shows the couple getting out of the sedan and the man hurrying around to the passenger side, where he kicks the woman twice -- first in the back, knocking her to the ground, and then in the head, after which she is still.

At that point, the assailant struggles to pick up the limp victim and loads her into the car before getting back behind the wheel and driving off.

Investigators identified the suspect and victim with help from witness statements and the surveillance images, which were released to the news media. Officers located the woman later in the evening, and paramedics treated her for non-life-threatening injuries.

Anguiano remained at large until Aug. 11, when he surrendered at Chula Vista police headquarters.

Alternate Public Defender Brooke LaFrance told Judge Garry Haehnle Wednesday that in the next couple of months, she will decide whether to file a motion to withdraw Anguiano's plea.

A hearing was set for Jan. 20. Under the terms of his current plea, Anguiano would be sentenced to seven years in state prison.